This invention relates to an improved aerodynamically contoured window surface construction for passenger vehicles.
Within the last several years there has been an increasing interest in automotive aerodynamic efficiency. This interest has been heightened by the rapidly rising fuel prices and the difficulty of providing further engine efficiency increases.
The improvement of aerodynamic flow across the vehicle surface has been studied extensively in experimental type cars, with a view to reducing the coefficient of drag to about 0.2.
One of the principal drawbacks of such designs is in the area of the windows which imposes a requirement of a continuous shaped area not practical in a production model vehicle. This difficulty is mainly due to the fact that in the windshield and side window area it is necessary to have a window which readily opens for convenience of the vehicle occupants. The need to contour the window surface for air flow improvement heretofore precluded use of a retractable window. This limitation of aerodynamic design has been longstanding and heretofore has not been successfully solved.